Rocketeer
"It's curtains for you, communist. Lacy, gently wafting curtains." :- Rocketeer Tactical Analysis * The Man of Steel: Rocketeers are among the best tank hunters in the Allied Nations, raining down powerful proton blasts from their gauntlets onto enemy formations. * Look, Up in the Sky: The titular rocket packs make for quick and agile flight, which along with their gauntlets allow Rocketeers to bring down aircraft. Rocketeers can take off or land as necessary to avoid enemy defences. * Rocket Punch!: On the ground, Rocketeers augment their close quarters combat training with micro-rocket propelled fists - far more than a match for most foes, though bringing fists to a sword, mono-wire, or thermobaric fight remains inadvisable, even for the Rocketeers. * Frickin' Rainbow Guns: A handful of Rocketeers have discarded the proton gauntlets in favor of more conventional spectrum pistols. Rocketeers with sufficient practicality to use firearms instead of fancy exotic tech are understandably rare and tend to be some of the oldest, most cynical veterans. Background By day, he was a mild-mannered scientist genius... but by night, Von Braun was Captain Rocket, hero of the free world and inspiration to Allied troops everywhere! Soaring through the skies during the Second World War, he led Allied air operations in Europe against the Soviet war machine, fighting them back over the border of his homeland of Germany. Von Braun was the most brilliant rocket scientist of his time, but early in the war when the Soviets invaded the Fatherland, he was kidnapped and forced to design weapons for the Red Army. Under threat of death and the death of his family, he designed the Soviets' dreaded V2 rockets... but as he did so, he secretly worked on the designs for a personalized rocket pack, and as soon as it was complete, he activated it, launching himself high into the air and wreaking havoc on the research laboratory he was trapped in. Using other stolen weapons he decimated the Soviet Army garrison in the area, and even managed to kill the famed commando known as Boris. Von Braun returned to Allied lines with his incredible invention, but rather than continue researching, he decided he would not rest until Germany was free. He took to the skies many more times... and his bravery, success and sheer "coolness" allowed his likeness as Captain Rocket (for the Soviets could not know of his true identity, for the sake of his family) to be used as perfect propaganda. Who needs to invent a superhero to fight your enemies metaphorically, when one fights for you already? He was the natural foil for the Soviet's own superheroes, Volkov and Chitzkoi, who until then were on the verge of shattering Allied morale on account of their apparent inability to die no matter what the Allies threw at them. But Von Braun's record was not to be stain-free, for he did fail one mission, an attack on a Soviet base. It seemed simple enough, but it turned out that Volkov was there, waiting for him. Though Von Braun emptied every last round of ammunition into Volkov, but none of his attacks managed to break the hyperalloy and composite plating that made up Volkov's body; indeed, most of them didn't get past his trench coat. Volkov fired exactly once, disabling Braun's rocket pack with a well-aimed shot, and lifted Braun into the air by the neck and gave him a stern warning to never cross his path again. Taking these words well, Von Braun fled the scene. After the war, Von Braun retired his rocket pack to continue researching for the Allied forces and lived to be the most brilliant rocket scientist of his time. However, upon leaving the battlefield, he submitted his jetpack to the Allied forces for further research and development, which eventually yielded a mass-producible model. However, the new model was never intended for combat; as much as Von Braun disagreed, the Allied high command did not believe a jetpack-armed soldier would be effective for combat purposes. At most, spies and special forces units employed them merely as jump-jets or extraction vehicles. The Rocketeer Corps was, for the most part, used in parades to instill the same patriotic feelings that Captain Rocket's adventures had... until a parade was the subject of a surprise attack by the Soviets, sometime during WWIII. Though victory should have easily gone to the Soviets, the Rocketeers participating in the parade (armed with weapons grabbed from a nearby armoury) managed to claim a surprising number of Soviet casualties, eventually driving back the Soviets with the aid of local Allied forces. It was this incident, along with reports on the lethality of Imperial Rocket Angel squadrons in combat, that eventually convinced the Allies to rethink their position on jetpack equipped combat infantry. Now, while the Rocketeer Corps continues to act as the highlight of Allied military parades, the roles of Rocketeers are no longer purely ceremonial. Armed with powerful proton gauntlets that allow them to smash tanks, the presence of a Rocketeer over a battlefield can provide a much-needed lift to the spirits of Allied forces, while striking dread into the hearts of the Allies' enemies. Quotes Behind the Scenes The Rocketeer's design is inspired by the Red Alert 2 Rocketeer, Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Zapp Branagan from Futurama, and Buzz Lightyear from Pixar's Toy Story. The background lore is inspired by Marvel superhero Iron Man. Just the Stats Category:Units Category:Units Originating from the United States